Jean de Men
The dictator who rose from corporate shill to celebrity author to power-mad fascist does not resemble a certain dubious billionaire who tripped over twice losing the popular vote into one nightmarish term as President by coincidence. Jean de Men symbolizes all those horrific things that people think can't actually happen until it does.
Skin
Skin has layers. The epidermis, the dermis and those layers which lie beneath. Skin plays a huge role in the narrative as a result of an advanced new type of tattooing process which allows stories to be told. Stories have layers as well and storytelling is also of essential importance. So, the layers of skin are symbols of the layers of a story: context, subtext, etc.
Joan of Dirt
The Joan of the book is called Joan of Dirt. The reasons are specific and complicated. Joan of Dirt is the symbolic reincarnation of Joan of Arc. And Joan of Arc is, to the modern world, a symbol of rebellion against the patriarchy. (Keep in mind the name of the dictator.)
Butterfly
The narrator admits early on that one of the tattoo-like grafts she sports on her skin are butterfly wings. Later, she will describe Joan as having the ghosts of history around her including butterflies as part of her standard on the battlefield. The symbolism of the butterfly as a creature representing transformation and freedom certainly applies here.
A Breeding Gold Mine
Jean de Men has plans for Joan: to turn her into a baby-making factory that will reverse the sexless beings humans have become. His plan to use her body to forcibly make new little human begins is, of course, a symbolic rendering of the very fundamental basis of reproductive rights.
